Ramsau preview: teenage revelations lead women’s fight as Lamparter targets keeping yellow on home snow

A packed FIS Nordic Combined World Cup weekend in Ramsau, Austria, is set to accelerate both the women’s and men’s title races.

Women’s title fight and teenage surge - Seventeen‑year‑old Austrian Katharina Gruber stunned the field in Trondheim, winning the Mass Start after a 97.0 m jump vaulted her from 13th after the ski to victory, making her the youngest woman and first Austrian to win a World Cup event. - Defending champions Ida Marie Hagen (overall 2023‑24) and Nathalie Armbruster (last season’s overall winner) now face a three‑way Crystal Globe battle, with six of the current top 10 still in their teens. - Ramsau has been a springboard for young talents: Minja Korhonen earned two career podiums there (first at 16), Yuna Kasai backed up her maiden podium with another in Ramsau in 2021, and Lisa Hirner claimed her first World Cup second place there in 2022. Armbruster also announced herself with multiple Ramsau podiums as a 16‑year‑old. - Hagen leads the overall standings by 20 points over Gruber and Armbruster and has won her last three Ramsau starts, including both events last season (Mass Start and Compact). The women race a Mass Start on Friday, followed by an individual Gundersen on Saturday, after a Thursday PCR. - Other teen standouts in the current top 10 include Heta Hirvonen (FIN), Yuzuki Kainuma (JPN) and Ingrid Laate (NOR; ski jumping standings leader). Laate has top‑8 results but needs stronger skiing to contend for podiums.

Lamparter’s home goal - Austria’s Johannes Lamparter leads the men’s overall by 43 points over Julian Schmid after three wins in the first four races. Ramsau is significant in his career: his first individual podium there in December 2022 sparked a run of seven wins in 11 events and the 2022‑23 Crystal Globe. He won both Ramsau events the following year but did not take the yellow bib from Jarl Magnus Riiber. - Lamparter has worn yellow since Ruka and aims to keep it through the Christmas break after a Friday Mass Start and Saturday Gundersen. Austria also has Franz‑Josef Rehrl and Thomas Rettenegger inside the top five seeking home success. - Veteran Akito Watabe will miss Ramsau to be with his family in Japan as they expect their third child. He remains one shy of Wilhelm Denifl’s record 294 individual World Cup starts and plans to retire after this season.

Ramsau schedule (CET) 19 Dec 2025 - 10:15 – Women’s Mass Start (Cross‑Country) - 11:00 – Men’s Mass Start (Cross‑Country) - 12:30 – Women’s Individual NH (Ski Jumping) - 13:15 – Men’s Individual NH (Ski Jumping)

20 Dec 2025 - 08:30 – Women’s Individual NH (Ski Jumping) - 09:15 – Men’s Individual NH (Ski Jumping) - 14:45 – Men’s Individual Gundersen 10 km - 15:30 – Women’s Individual Gundersen 5 km